768GB of cheap Intel Optane DIMM memory sticks used to run 1-trillion-parameter LLM on a system with a single GPU — local Kimi K2.5 install achieved roughly 4 tokens per second
A Redditor successfully built a workstation using 768GB of second-hand Intel Optane DIMM memory to run a 1-trillion-parameter language model. The setup achieved a performance of approximately 4 tokens per second, utilizing a Xeon CPU and a GPU. Despite the lower latency of Optane compared to SSDs, it is still slower than DRAM, and the discontinuation of Optane products poses challenges for future builds.
- ▪The Redditor used six 128GB Intel Optane PMem sticks to create a workstation capable of running a large language model.
- ▪The performance achieved was around 4 tokens per second, which the builder considers a success given the hardware limitations.
- ▪Optane memory offers lower latency than NVMe SSDs but is still slower than traditional DRAM.
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| Original publisher | Tom's Hardware |
| Canonical URL | https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/enthusiast-runs-1-trillion-parameter-llm-from-768gb-of-intel-optane-dimm-memory-sticks-local-kimi-k2-5-install-achieved-roughly-4-tokens-per-second |
| Publication time | Sat, 23 May 2026 11:20:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-23T11:22:26.391Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-23T11:22:26.391Z |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | 6j7ol5BTz8eH · 3 stories |
| Cluster logic | Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison. |
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| AI summary | May WeSearch generate its own short summary of the article? | Limited |
| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
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Tech Industry Artificial Intelligence 768GB of cheap Intel Optane DIMM memory sticks used to run 1-trillion-parameter LLM on a system with a single GPU — local Kimi K2.5 install achieved roughly 4 tokens per second News By Mark Tyson published 23 May 2026 Redditor found 768GB of affordable Optane sticks second-hand. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Lenovo) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter A Redditor has caused a stir by coaxing a workstation build using Optane PMem DIMMs as RAM to run a 1-trillion-parameter LLM.
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